


Impossibly Light

by RoseThorn14



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Gen, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Panic Attacks, Poor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Slave Obi-Wan Kenobi, Slavery, Slight Obi-Wan/Maul, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23893486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseThorn14/pseuds/RoseThorn14
Summary: Obi-Wan met Maul for the first time on the day he had to sell himself to Watto in exchange for Anakin's freedom and the parts for the ship.He didn't know which one of them was more surprised when they both came out of that encounter alive.And the second one.And the third.----Or when a little by of kindness and the offer of dinner changes a whole lot of things.Please read the tags and the notes at the start. Maul is surprisingly not the aggressor in this situation (neither is Obi or Shmi)
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker
Comments: 67
Kudos: 587





	1. The Galaxy Hates Obi-Wan

**Author's Note:**

> So this is going to be quite a bit darker than I usually ago. I can't stress enough that you need to read the tags. Please don't hesitate to tell me to add stuff if you think I need to. 
> 
> Warning for panic attacks, and attempted rape (but no actual rape). It’s my attempt at a sought of realistic version of what might have happened if Obi-Wan had to stay behind.
> 
> I'm thinking of making this into a long fic and have a rough outline going forward. Do you think I should do it?

This wasn't quite the worst day of Obi-Wan Kenobi's life, but it was up there.

He couldn't stop himself from running his finger over the scar in his neck as he walked back to Shmi's house with her.

His eyes were trained on the spot in the sky where he'd seen the ship disappear into space a few hours ago. Qui-Gon and the Queen would be well on their way to Coruscant by now.

"Thank you," Shmi murmured as they doggedly trudged along, both of them aching and tired from a hard day at work.

Obi-Wan would say that Watto had been trying to punish them, but he had no framework for what life was like here. Maybe everyday would be like this.

"Anakin shouldn't be punished for something that wasn't his fault."

If Qui-Gon's story had been correct, Anakin's podracer had literally been blown up by a bomb thrown by another racer. Watto had demanded his payment, but Obi-Wan had been able to convince him of a compromise.

He didn't regret it. He didn't.

He could feel Shmi glance at him from the corner of her eye.

"You still didn’t have to do what you did."

Obi-Wan clenched his fists, he could feel the chip in his neck, ready to blow his head off at the press of a button.

"I am a Jedi. It was my duty."

"I think anyone would agree that you went above and beyond what is asked of you."

Obi-Wan's breathing was unsteady. He didn't have to worry. Qui-Gon would be back. The Jedi wouldn't just leave him.

He didn't know what he would have said in reply to Shmi, but thankfully he didn't need to.

Obi-Wan froze as someone appeared at the top of the hill he was climbing.

The first thing he registered was the Darkness. One moment everything was normal, the next it was surrounding him, buffeting his senses from all sides and practically blinding him.

He stared up at the nightmare before him, heavily tattooed skin seeming to suck light as he approached them, unclipping a lightsaber from his belt and activating it to reveal a deep red blade.

A blade of pure terror sliced its way into Obi-Wan's heart.

He shoved Shmi behind him, instinctively reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. His lightsaber was with Watto, held hostage as another layer of precaution keeping him in line. Even now, Obi-Wan could feel the crystal calling out to him, pleading for him to retrieve his partner.

The Darksider (who felt so much more powerful than Xanatos had, and Obi-Wan thought facing him had been bad) stalked towards him and Obi-Wan knew he didn't stand a chance. The hate and anger and fear pulsing around the zabrak threatened to bring Obi-Wan to his knees but he locked them.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. _There is no death, there is the Force._

That didn't mean others had to suffer for his failings.

"I know you are going to kill me," Obi-Wan said as serenely as he could, one arm held in front of him and the other shielding Shmi. "But please let her go. She doesn't deserve this."

The zabrak paused.

"She has no part in this. She doesn't use the Force."

Silence. The man didn't move forward.

Obi-Wan adjusted his stance, prepared to give Shmi as much time to run as she could. Hopefully the Darksider would be satisfied with killing him and wouldn't go after her.

"Where is your lightsaber?"

Obi-Wan was caught off guard by the question after so much silence. The words were practically a growl they were so thick with anger, but there was also shock in there.

"It was taken from me," he managed to get out after a few seconds of choking on his words.

The zabrak actually growled at that.

Obi-Wan tensed.

The lightsaber powered down.

"You're not worth it."

With one last glare, he disappeared back over the dune he'd come from.

They both stared after him for a few minutes before Shmi twisted a hand in Obi-Wan's tunic.

"Let's go the long way."

\-----

The zabrak returned two days later when Obi-Wan was meditating a few hundred metres away from the house whilst Shmi got dinner ready.

He found himself unsurprised that he couldn't find calm. His entire being felt exhausted. He'd certainly been more physically challenged in the past, and he'd even been more mentally strained on missions beforehand. But there was something uniquely stressful about knowing his life depended on the whims of someone who could legally dictate his every action.

He hadn't been enslaved on a mission for years and he'd forgotten just how mentally exhausting it was.

The zabrak had approached him silently and when Obi-Wan opened his eyes, finally having given up, he nearly jumped out of his skin to find him standing a few metres away.

In a second, Obi-Wan was on his feet, hands up, ready to fight.

"I thought I wasn't worth it," was the first thing out of his mouth and Obi-Wan internally cursed. He was usually more diplomatic than that.

The zabrak glared at him. "My master wants you dead, Jedi."

He spat the word Jedi like a True Mandalorian would.

Obi-Wan met his hate with serenity as he felt something tighten in his chest.

He dipped his head. "I understand."

He got into a ready stance for hand-to-hand.

The zabrak narrowed his eyes at him and unhooked his lightsaber from his belt, and then hurled it across the desert.

Obi-Wan's mouth dropped open.

The zabrak got into a ready stance and Obi-Wan understood. He nodded.

And then a wave of anger and hatred was assaulting his senses, temporarily freezing his limbs and giving Maul the advantage long enough for the zabrak to hit him.

Obi-Wan stumbled back, but managed to fend off the next blow which gave him time to refocus on the fight.

He lasted for a few more minutes, but he was already tired, and whatever Force power the zabrak was using had torn at his mind, being especially effective since he hadn't properly meditated in days.

The zabrak knocked his legs out from under him and then he was pinning him down knees on his arms. The man landed blow after blow on Obi-Wan's face, his chest, his shoulders. Obi-Wan closed his eyes through the assault. _There is no chaos, there is harmony._

Obi-Wan released his pain into the Force, waiting for the darkness to overtake him. Oh, Force it hurt so much. He almost wished the zabrak had just used the lightsaber and gotten it over with.

_There is no death, there is the Force._

Suddenly the blows stopped. Obi-Wan unconsciously cringed, waiting for the next hit.

The zabrak let out a scream of frustration.

Obi-Wan pushed his body down into the sand.

"Why won't you hate me?" the zabrak yelled.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"Aren't you angry?"

Obi-Wan frowned, thinking about the question despite the pain. "I have spent much time working through my anger. But I am not angry at this moment, no."

"Why. Don't you hate me? You know what I am!"

Obi-Wan shrugged and then winced. He was sure something had been broken, or at least fractured.

"You have given me no reason to hate you."

Force, even talking hurt.

"I'm about to kill you! I've hurt you!"

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows. He was confused. Why couldn't the zabrak just get it over with?

"But you didn't kill me that first time, and I do not believe you will kill Shmi. I've heard stories. I know what the consequences would be for you if you did not carry out your task."

At least he hoped he wouldn't kill Shmi. There wasn't really much Obi-Wan could do about it.

The zabrak growled and pulled his fist back.

Obi-Wan was ashamed to wish that this one would knock him out.

And then the zabrak was pushing off him, shoving him down into the sand painfully as he got off Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan wanted to ask about a dozen questions but wisely kept his mouth shut.

He lifted his head off the sand slightly and saw the zabrak standing a few metres away, doubled over as he was practically hyperventilating.

"Do you want to come inside for dinner?" Obi-Wan asked.

The zabrak's eyes snapped open and he stared at Obi-Wan.

"Since it seems like you won't be killing me."

The zabrak was quiet for a few moments before he grunted.

Obi-Wan locked his teeth together as he pushed himself up, desperately trying not to verbally display his pain. He got to his knees, panting slightly but not leaning on his arms. It hurt to move his chest. And his shoulders. And his face.

He struggled to his feet whilst the zabrak watched on, following him silently as he stumbled inside.

Shmi was waiting for them, staring at them with wide eyes as they entered. When she had time to take in Obi-Wan's posture, she relaxed, raising an eyebrow.

"He did that to you, didn't he?"

"He's fine," Obi-Wan bit out, hoping he wouldn't offend Shmi with his shortness. It hurt to form words. "He won't kill us, right?"

They both looked at the zabrak questioningly and after a few moments the man nodded, almost glum.

"I'll clean you up, and then we can eat," Shmi announced, her voice firm and leaving no room for argument.

Obi-Wan tried to protest when she used her limited bacta on his wounds, but Shmi just hit him lightly and told him to stop hurting his bruised jaw more. He protested again when Shmi gave herself a smaller portion than usual so that the food could be stretched between three people. He had been planning on giving half his food to the zabrak.

Shmi levelled him with a glare and Obi-Wan chose not to push it, instead silently floating some of his food onto her plate when she wasn't looking. It felt like a breath of fresh air to be able to properly access the Force now that he wasn't being attacked by the zabrak's emotions.

The man was still projecting anger and fear in distracting amounts, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before, not in the least because there wasn't nearly as much hatred.

They ate in silence and when Shmi went to her room to mend some of her clothes, Obi-Wan glanced at the zabrak.

"So what do I call you?"

The zabrak's head snapped to him, eyes widening.

"I can't just keep call you 'the zabrak' in my head. That seems rude now that we've had dinner together."

The zabrak continued to stare.

"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

They lapsed into silence again, Obi-Wan trying to chew slowly to lessen the ache in his jaw. At least this injury might teach him how to keep his mouth shut.

"Maul."

It was Obi-Wan's turn to startle.

"My name is Maul."

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you."

The zabrak's voice was deep and smooth when he wasn't growling or screaming and Obi-Wan found he quite liked it.

When Shmi re-entered the kitchen the zabrak set the plate down on the table and walked over to the door.

Before he left, he glanced back at them.

"Thank you."

Shmi blinked after the dark figure.

"You attract trouble, Obi-Wan."

"I'm sorry."

Shmi softened. "Eat your food. All of it. I know it's not enough there. Don't you think I didn't see you put that food on my plate."

"It's fine," Obi-Wan assured her. "I'm used to it."

He pretended not to notice her concerned glance.

\----

The next time he saw Maul, a little less than a month later, it had been very nearly the worst day of his life, certainly his worst day on Tatooine.

But Obi-Wan's own concerns were pushed to the side when the zabrak stumbled into him on his way back from the water dispensary.

The man was bleeding profusely, his tunics torn and soaked with blood and his features were twisted in pain.

"Please help me," Maul begged, his voice hoarse. "Have mercy."

Panic jolted through Obi-Wan's gut and he slung Maul's arm around his shoulders, trying not to spill any of the water in his bucket whilst also supporting Maul all the way back to the house.

When they got there, Obi-Wan deposited Maul on his bed and got to work, Shmi helping him wrap the wounds as he carefully chose which ones to apply their limited bacta to.

He grimaced as he noted many barely-healed lightsaber burns both old and new, the most notable one passing straight through his shoulder. His mind was already starting to piece things together.

After twenty minutes of work, they both stepped back, having done all they could. Obi-Wan hated that he couldn't use the Force to help.

"Are you okay?" Shmi asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yeah. I'll watch him."

Shmi looked at him a moment longer, rubbing his arm soothingly before she left.

Obi-Wan blew out a shaky breath as he settled onto the floor, his head throbbing like it had all afternoon. Honestly, he didn't feel like he was every going to be okay again.

_Obi-Wan had been working for the customer in the back room, diligently putting the parts together whilst the customer stood behind him. Obi-Wan wasn't intimidated. This man had nothing on Master Windu's glare, or even his own Master's disapproving silence that never failed to cut him to his core._

_Still, Obi-Wan felt uneasy… like something bad was about to happen. His skin tingled in warning and his gut twisted itself into nots, ready for… something._

_Obi-Wan finished the work and stood up, giving the man a polite smile. However, before he could move away from the desk, he was being turned around violently and pushed up against the wall, face first._

_"What are you-"_

_"Don't talk, slave," the man growled into his ear, burying his face into Obi-Wan's neck as he held his head against the wall._

_He ground his hips against Obi-Wan's lower back, and suddenly things clicked in Obi-Wan's mind._

_"No!" he gasped out. "Don't!"_

_There was a sharp tug on his hair._

_"I said shut up!"_

_The man bit down on Obi-Wan's neck, causing him to cry out. On instinct, Obi-Wan threw his elbow back, connecting with the man's chest and pushing him off him. He spun around and used a force push to get him further away. The man crashed into the wall just as Watto walked in._

_"What is the meaning of this?"_

_Obi-Wan tried to explain, but he was silenced as his limbs seized, pain flaring across his nerves as electricity coursed through him and sent him to the floor._

_"You like that?" Watto asked as he released the blew button on the opposite end to the red one that would blow Obi-Wan up. "It's a function of the new slave chip design Gardulla released."_

_He pocketed the thin cylindrical trigger, the second of the two that he kept on him at all times._

_"Keep him on his leash!" the man yelled, as he left, Obi-Wan's work given to him for free._

_Watto turned to him. "I did not want to do this, Kenobi, but you leave me no choice."_

_The toydarian buzzed out of the room, returning with a thick metal band. Obi-Wan shook his head from his position on the floor and backed up. Watto held his thumb over the blue button on the trigger and Obi-Wan froze._

_"That's right," the toydarian proclaimed smugly as he flew forward and quickly clamped the collar around Obi-Wan's neck._

_Obi-Wan immediately felt its effects, his hands going to his throat in shock, he'd almost hooked his fingers underneath the collar when the shock went through him, sending him onto his back._

_Watto chuckled. "Any tampering and the collar will electrocute you until you drop. Only I have the access codes to get it off. Remember that, Kenobi."_

_Obi-Wan glared up at him, able to shake off the shock quickly. It barely registered compared to the throbbing ache that had bloomed in his skull. It felt like someone had chopped a limb off and it was bleeding out, but inside his head._

_"The Jedi won't be happy when they come for me."_

_The toydarian smirked. "I don't think they are coming back for you, Kenobi. They've left you here for almost a month, surely they would have come for you by now."_

_Obi-Wan fisted a hand in his hair, letting out a low moan. This was so much worse than any of the other Force suppression devices he had worn before. For most of those he had still been able to feel the Force, just not access it, or at the worst, it felt like a blank wall had been placed in his mind. This felt like the Force was getting actively ripped away from him._

_"Get to work, Kenobi. I expect you to make up for the money you just lost me. And never pull a stunt like that again, you hear me? Or I'll dole your punishment out on Skywalker as well."_

Obi-Wan slowly adjusted to the ache. Well, that was a lie, he was able to work through it. It didn't hurt any less and it was almost impossible to ignore the throbbing that pounded his head constantly.

He'd never felt so helpless. Sure, he'd been in positions this desperate before, plenty of times, but Qui-Gon had always been there to help. Well… not always, but Melida/Daan and those months after Tahl had died were long behind them.

For the next few days, Obi-Wan struggled, Watto forcing him to work at the same pace he had before. He came back to the house with barely enough strength to move, let alone actually help with things, but the woman was Force-blessed miracle and didn't expect anything of him, encouraging him to lie down and rest whenever she could convince him to.

Hot shame mixed with the helplessness as he was forced to watch her do all the work, unable to move after he'd kept the throbbing from overwhelming him all day.

Six days later found him and Maul (who was healed enough to walk around and start carrying things, as Shmi had ordered him to do. He had, to Obi-Wan's surprise, complied with the demands without complaint) and him sitting on the dune closest to the house as they ate their dinner.

Shmi had prepared them a treat of fried tubers and Maul was wolfing them down, his appetite fierce after being so badly injured. Obi-Wan chewed slowly on his first tuber and Maul let him lean on his shoulder (again, surprising) as he ate. Obi-Wan knew he was hungry, but it was difficult to eat whilst he was wrapped in the wave of nauseau his headache brought him every time he moved his jaw or swallowed something solid. Even too much liquid set it off. He'd already thrown up one precious meal that week. He wasn't about to waste anymore of their food.

"Your master did that to you, didn't he?" Obi-Wan murmured, unable to muster the strength to properly filter his words. And it wasn't the first time. He'd seen the scars from badly healed wounds littering Maul's body evidence of years of abuse.

He think he felt the zabrak shifting to look at him, but Obi-Wan didn't really know since his eyes were closed. Blocking out at least one sense helped slightly with the pounding.

"I went to Naboo," Maul answered eventually his voice low. He'd been speaking in that tone to Obi-Wan all afternoon. Obi-Wan liked it. It didn't make the headache worse. "My master wanted me to kill your master."

"I figured," Obi-Wan replied, barely louder than a whisper. "What happened?"

"I lost. I was distracted and your master stabbed me in the shoulder and I then fell down a reactor."

Maul's hand was suddenly on Obi-Wan's arm, the one that had previously been brushing lightly against Maul's thigh as it hung limply. He squeezed and Obi-Wan grimaced against the wave of darkness that needled into his head. He couldn't feel the Force at all, but because the galaxy hated him, he could still register surges of Darkness.

"My master punished me. That was expected but he… he cast me out," Maul said, voice hollow. "The only reason I escaped was because he was injured from killing his own master."

Another surge of darkness that Obi-Wan grit his teeth against.

"Do you remember anything about him?" he asked, because he had to. A Sith Master meant devastating things for the galaxy.

Maul groaned.

"It's okay. I understand that you're scared."

"Of course I'm scared!" Maul yelled, losing control of his voice. "It's not just that though. I can't remember! I knew who my master was, but every time I try to think of him, my mind won't remember. His name, his job, even his karking face!"

Obi-Wan moaned at the fresh assault on his head, the darkness and the elevated sound making his head feel like it was splitting open. His head slipped off Maul's shoulder as he instinctively tried to curl up.

The zabrak caught his shoulder and Obi-Wan's eyes jerked open in surprise. The first thing he registered was the fact that some of the zabrak's cuts had reopened.

"I can teach you how to heal those," Obi-Wan whispered, a little deliriously.

The zabrak jerked. "What? How?"

"A healing trance," Obi-Wan breathed out. "Won't actually heal, but speed it up."

He was having troubles forming full sentences. He really needed to lie down.

"A Light power?" Maul snarled.

Obi-Wan hummed.

"I can't do that! I'm Dark."

Obi-Wan's eyes slipped closed. "Don't have to be."

Maul made a wounded noise in the back of his throat. "I don't know how to not be. I've only ever been Dark."

Obi-Wan tipped forward. Maul kept him upright.

"Can teach you," Obi-Wan urged, his words slurred.

"You need to lie down," Maul shot back. "You can't even sit up."

"Wanna," Obi-Wan replied. "Just lie me against the sand. I'll teach you from there."

The zabrak growled but he lowered Obi-Wan down and rearranged him so he was lying, back against the sand.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan murmured, voice gaining a bit of strength now that the rest of his body was relaxed. "Now sit with your legs crossed and close your eyes."

\----

Obi-Wan couldn't hide his disappointment when he woke the next morning to find Maul gone.

They'd made so much progress yesterday. Maul had even actually managed a healing trace. Or, he'd said he did. Obi-Wan wasn't able to actually check using the Force, but he didn't think Maul would lie to make him feel better.

"He said he'll be back," Shmi assured him when he stared around the kitchen.

Obi-Wan nodded and immediately regretted it as the surge of pain forced a tine mewl of pain from his lips.

Shmi, bless her, didn't comment on it.

\----

That night he couldn't sleep. His entire body shook as he huddled under the blanket and clenched his eyes shut.

His master would be so disappointed if he could see him now, trembling in fear as he sucked in tight, shuddering, breaths. 

He couldn’t do this.

He had to do this.

He didn't have a choice.

_Obi-Wan froze when the man entered the back room._

_"Ah, so you remember me."_

_Of course Obi-Wan remembered him._

_The man dumped a few parts down in front of Obi-Wan, grinning wolfishly at the full-bodied flinch that went through Obi-Wan at the movement._

_"Fix this up for me," the man ordered and Obi-Wan got to work, his hands shaking._

_The man leaned over Obi-Wan's back whilst he worked and Obi-Wan tensed, fear clenching around his heart._

_"You're very beautiful," the man murmured, "I can't believe you didn't end up in a pleasure house."_

_Obi-Wan kept his eyes forward and tried to keep his fingers moving._

_"It means," the man continued, his voice husky as he rested a hand on Obi-Wan's head. "that you must be very skilled with those hands of yours."_

_Obi-Wan swallowed._

_"When is this going to be done?" the man asked, his breath hitting Obi-Wan's neck._

_Obi-Wan was glad for the answer he could give._

_"They won't be done for a few hours," he informed the man, ignoring the way his voice cracked._

_The hand on his head clenched, pulling his hair painfully._

_Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. It felt like his skull was being split apart._

_"I don't have time to wait," the man snarled, jerking Obi-Wan's head back._

_The man nuzzled Obi-Wan's neck, running a tongue over the bite he'd placed there a week ago, before he whispered into his ear, "I'll be back tomorrow then, my sweet."_

_Obi-Wan dropped the tool in his hand when the door closed behind the man. He pushed back from the desk, his breaths heaving as the fear momentarily distracted him from the ever-present wound in his skull._

_He slid from the seat kneeling with his head bowed as he tried to get his thoughts under control._

_His shields were shredded as fear sent shivers through his body. He only came back to the present as he dimly registered Watto come to a stop, hovering over him._

_"Please," he begged, hating himself for it._

_Watto's gaze skittered away from him guiltily. "It's out of my control, Kenobi. He works for Gardulla, I can't disagree with him."_

_Obi-Wan's entire body shuddered. He couldn't think through the pain and the fear._

_"I can't," he gasped. "I-I."_

_"You'll have to," Watto replied, his voice firm. "Remember, your next punishment will also be given to Skywalker."_

And so Obi-Wan would be walking into the shop the next day, knowing what was going to happen to him.

The next morning, Maul, who had returned sometime during the night, stopped him at the door.

"Don't," he said, hand resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

Obi-Wan shrugged, smiling sadly. "I have to. Watto has Shmi and I's buttons. He can blow us up with a flick of his finger."

Maul squeezed Obi-Wan shoulder and Obi-Wan sighed, letting his head hang down.

"Please don't make this harder than it already is," he whispered, a shiver rippling through him.

Maul glared at him but released his shoulder.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan murmured before he followed Shmi out of the house.

\----

The man was already there when Obi-Wan entered the back room for the first time, examining the parts that Obi-Wan had fixed up the day before.

"This is good work," the man complimented, shooting Obi-Wan a sharp, predatory smile that sent a spike of fear straight into his chest.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no passion -_

Obi-Wan's mantra was cut off as his back slammed into the wall, the uneven wall tearing his thin tunic and slicing into his back.  


The man had snuck up on him whilst his eyes were closed.

The man had a fist in his hair, pushing his head back into the wall.

Instinctively, Obi-Wan tried to reach for the Force, but the effort made it feel like someone had slammed an axe into his skull. He let out a yell of pain and the man chuckled as he bit into Obi-Wan's neck harshly and ground his hips against him.

"Please," Obi-Wan rasped out and then the man was pulled away from him, slamming Obi-Wan into the wall again before he threw Obi-Wan across the room.

"Shut up!" the man yelled as Obi-Wan caught himself on the table.

He tried to push himself up, but then there was a pressure on his back and Obi-Wan was being pushed down onto the table, his weak arms giving out quickly as his hips bent.

"Perfect," the man growled, animalistic in his lust and Obi-Wan whimpered as he felt a hand on his hip and hooking beneath his pants.

And then it all stopped.

The hand on Obi-Wan's back was suddenly not there anymore and the body pressing up against him disappeared.

It took a second for Obi-Wan's brain to reboot and register the familiar hum of an activated lightsaber.

He turned around in time to see Maul deactivate his saber and let the man fall to the ground.

He never thought he'd be relieved to see someone die.

The very next moment, he was hit by a wave of disgust at his vile thought and felt his knees give out from under him.

Maul stared down at him as Obi-Wan struggled to breath for a few seconds before he crouched down in front of him.

The sight of the now familiar face in front of him snapped Obi-Wan out of his panic and his mind started to work again, even if he was still choking on his own breaths.

"Wat..Watto," he warned, stuttering.

Maul raised the triggers. "Dead. He can't hurt you."

Obi-Wan shuddered again as a wave of relief hit him so hard that it made him dizzy.

"We need to go," Shmi urged - and when had she got there? Oh Force Obi-Wan hoped she hadn't heard any of that - "Gardulla's men will find him."

Obi-Wan swallowed. "The office - my saber."

Maul nodded and moved away.

And then Shmi was in front of him, taking one of his hands and putting it on her chest.

"You need to calm down, Obi-Wan. Breathe with me."

She counted her breaths, making them obvious as he felt the rise and fall of her chest. After a few seconds, Obi-Wan managed to match his breathing to hers, which did a lot to calm him down and meant he only had to deal with the headache and even that he was almost used to at that point.

Things got easier when Maul handed him his saber back. It was like a weight that he hadn't even known was there lifted off his chest.

The small relief gave him enough strength to follow Shmi back to the house and help her hastily pack everything in the small dwelling whilst Maul went and retrieved his ship from wherever he had hidden it.

They managed to get pretty much everything, including all Shmi's extra blankets, water and food, as well as Ani's protocol droid, C3-PO, before they were discovered, a round of blaster bolts arching over the dunes hailing the arrival of the Hutt's men.

Obi-Wan, who had been hurrying towards the ships ramps with the last of their supplies was the only one to be hit and Shmi managed to drag him onto the ship before they could fire again.

And then they were in the air, Maul flying them off planet.

"Where are we going?"

Obi-Wan grimaced - the two bolts that had hit him in the shoulder and stomach had been shot from too far away to land lethal hits, but the wounds stung like hell. Although he guessed they gave him something to focus on other than the pain in his head.

"Where else can we go? We're going home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I do more? I have a rough plan for what I might want to do with this fic moving forward into the timeline and eventually into CW era. 
> 
> Where do you think it would go moving forward?


	2. The Jedi Masters are Having a Bad Time of it

Plo Koon had been meditating in the Room of a Thousand Fountains when his day was ruined.

Well, perhaps an unexpected comm call did not constitute ruining his day, but in the privacy of his own carefully shielded mind he could indulge himself in his dramatics.

Nevertheless, a comm call during his meditation could only mean bad things. Some senator had asked for them, a prank had been pulled that resulted in an injury, someone had pissed off Mace and he wanted a spar.

Force forbid an emergency Council meeting. Force forbid an emergency Council meeting set because of _Master Jinn._

Plo held back a shudder and decided to answer the call before he could work himself up too much.

Plo had expected many things when he opened his comm, but he did not expected to be met with an image of someone that had recently been reported as Fallen.

"Padawan Kenobi?" Plo asked, not quite managing to keep the surprise from his voice as the title slipped out by accident.

"Master Plo," the boy greeted with a smile that was closer to a grimace.

He inclined his head forward in a respectful nod but only got part way through the motion before he froze and grimaced.

Kenobi did not look well. Plo could see even through the grainy comm image that he had very dark circles under his eyes and that his cheeks were practically hollow.

"I apologise for any inconvenience, Master," Kenobi continued. "However, it is rather urgent as I am currently entering Coruscant's atmosphere."

True to his words, the holo feed shook as if the stabilisers on the ship were adjusting to a sudden change in environment. Plo saw Kenobi pale visibly and clench his jaw.

"Sorry," Kenobi commented, his voice strained even as he tried to be polite and formal. "We will be landing in Public Lot 3B-14. I believe it's on the second level. I thought it best we don't land directly in the temple because of my… travelling companions. Could you please meet us there? We swear we won’t leave the ship until you arrive. Bring as many masters or knights as you deem necessary, but please don't bring Qui-Gon."

"Why?" Plo asked, unable to formulate any other questions in the face of this shocking revelation.

The holo feed shook again and the image blurred.

"Shmi!"

"No Obi. I'll talk to him. You look like you're going to pass out. Again."

The image refocused on a woman with dark hair.

"Hello. Master Koon I believe Obi said your name was?"

Plo nodded.

"My name is Shmi Skywalker," the woman said, her voice firm in a way that permitted no objections. "Master Jinn brought my son to your temple some weeks ago after Obi-Wan exchanged himself for Anakin's freedom and a hyperdrive for Master Jinn's ship. Since then, we have been freed from slavery by an individual that your temple would perceive as a threat. I assure you, Maul is a _former_ Sith Apprentice. He no longer seeks to harm you. Isn't that right, Maul?"

"What?" a voice from off screen asked, smooth and low.

Shmi glared at someone to her right.

"Oh, fine. I don't want to kill all the Jedi anymore. Are you happy?"

She pursed her lips but nodded. "Thank you, Maul."

This was followed by a grunt that caused a small smile to flicker onto her face.

"We're working through his issues. He meditates a lot with Obi-Wan," she explained.

Plo was stunned silent. A Sith Apprentice meditating with a Fallen padawan? To work through his _issues_?

Although, Plo wasn't entirely sure if Kenobi was Fallen. He was very much not acting like one that had embraced the Dark.

"Why does Kenobi not want Master Jinn to be in attendance?"

Shmi smiled ruefully. "I'm sure you saw Obi-Wan's condition. Believe me, he looks worse in person. He doesn't want to worry his Master and he's worried about how he and Maul will react to each other."

Shmi was staring at Plo searchingly by the end of her statement, as if she could tell something was wrong. Plo was glad for the mask. As a Council Member, he was a master of maintaining an image of outward calm, however Shmi had such a sharp look in her eyes, that he wasn't sure she wouldn't be able to find something anyway.

"What is wrong with him?" Plo asked quietly, something in his chest twisting.

Shmi's expression shuttered and she glanced down, presumably at Kenobi. She walked a few steps away but stopped as one of her hands were jerked out of screen.

"You don’t need to move away, Shmi. I know you'll be talking about me either way."

Shmi frowned, looking downwards and the comm tipped just enough for the holo feed to show her smoothing a hand over Kenobi's forehead. The boy was leaning back in his chair, head resting against the wall of the ship, his eyes closed and his expression calm, though his lips were pursed too tight for true serenity.

"Peace, Obi," Shmi said, her voice quieter than Plo had heard it. "The quiet will make you feel better."

Obi-Wan opened his eyes. "I'm al-"

"Don't lie to me," her tone was unyielding and sharp, but not loud enough to make Obi-Wan flinch.

She carded her fingers through his hair - which had grown out a few centimetres over his time away from the temple.

The ship jerked a little bit and Obi-Wan clenched his eyes shut, locking his jaw as a small sound escaped from the back of his throat. Shmi made soothing noises until his face smoothed and then she was walking away into another room that Plo quickly determined was a fresher.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to explain it completely, but from what Obi-Wan has told me and from what I overheard Watto talking about, Obi-Wan was put in some sought of Force-suppression collar just over two weeks ago."

Plo's stomach twisted. Being forced to where a Force-suppression collar for any length of time was an awful experience, and two weeks was longer than most Jedi would ever be forced to endure.

Shmi's mouth twisted. "Obi said it's worse than any other collar he's worn. He apparently can't feel the Force - like it's being continuously torn away from him is how he put it. It's giving him a near constant migraine. Maul told me he can't feel Obi-Wan in the Force at all. We can't get it off, every time we so much as put a finger between it and his neck it sends electricity though him, and the metal it's made out of is immune to lightsabers. The only way to get it off is with a key code, but only Watto knew it and he's dead."

Plo's heart sunk as events began to solidify in his head.

A grievous mistake had been made.

The woman blew out a shaky breath. "It's bad, Master Koon. He's barely eaten a few bites in the past week. Please help him."

She took a few deep breaths and Plo allowed her the time to compose herself in silence, taking the few moments to begin forming a plan in his head. He'd need to act quickly.

Shmi exited the fresher after one large breath and quick swipe at her eyes.

"We'll be landing in about ten minutes, Master Koon. Like Obi-Wan said, we'll stay in the ship until you arrive."

"Wait, Shmi. I have one more thing to say."

Shmi frowned but she walked over to Obi-Wan and handed him the comm.

By the time he came into focus, young Obi-Wan had lifted his head off the wall.

"Master Plo," he said seriously, his voice quiet as he murmured into the comm. "I know that Maul will _feel_ Dark when you sense him, but please don't attack him. He can reject it, I know it. He just hasn't had a chance yet."

Obi-Wan sighed.

"Please, Master. He is getting better. He may never be a Jedi, but he is no longer a Sith and he is learning to use the Light."

There was a note of desperation to the boy's voice that sent a tumultuous wave of emotions coursing through Plo.

"I assure you that I will ensure that everyone reacts calmly to his presence," Plo promised, imbuing as much warmth into his voice as possible. "Anyone can return to the Light if they are given the chance, and it seems you have helped pave the way for him."

Young Obi-Wan closed his eyes, giving an audible sigh of relief, before he grimaced.

"My apologies for my discomposure, Master Koon," he said quickly. "Thank you for your kindness."

"There is nothing to thank, padawan. I will see you soon."

With that he ended the transmission and quickly withdrew into the Force, taking a few moments to examine his emotions. There was sorrow at what Obi-Wan had to experience, guilt at failing to help him, and more than a little anger at those who had forced him into the situation and then failed to properly investigate his circumstances.

He felt these emotions, being mindful of their causes before he released them into the Force. At this moment, they would be not useful and would distract him.

When he came back up, Plo was calmer and he was more sure of his course of action as he dialled a familiar number.

"Master Koon, news you have?"

"Master Yoda. I'm afraid we have an urgent matter that needs to be addressed immediately."

\-----

Depa Billaba was having troubles releasing her emotions into the Force as they walked through the public hangar towards the lot that Kenobi had said they'd land on.

It had been a trying few weeks for the Jedi as a whole, but especially for Masters on the Council, which meant that she had been receiving an increasing amount of comm calls from her former Master asking her to listen to his rants or play punching bag in a spar with him.

Master Jinn's discovery of a Sith Apprentice had had everyone in a frenzy as they tried to scramble together a plan moving forward. The whole Temple had lost what little calm it had managed to scrape together when Jinn had returned from Tatooine claiming that the Sith Apprentice, that had previously been reported as dead, had managed to turn his former padawan to the Dark Side. Any sympathy the Council might have had for the virtually repudiated padawan had been dimmed then as they sent out a team to retrieve both Darksiders. That was until the mysterious comm call Plo had received.

She snuck a glance at her companions. Four Temple Guards flanked Master Yoda, Plo and Mace. All of them were projecting outward images of calm, just as they always did, and their emotions were carefully shielded, again a normal occurrence. However, Depa knew Plo well enough to see his unease in the slight tilt of his head, and the torrent of emotions Mace was feeling was strong enough that Depa could feel echoes of his internal conflict through the remnants of their training bond.

The one person in their group not completely hiding her emotions was Vokara Che, who was being followed by two med droids. The blue Twi'lek pursed her lips as they strode along, her worry tingeing the Force around her.

Depa, herself, didn’t know what to think. She'd found it hard to believe the report that the reserved but fierce padawan had turned to the Dark Side. Yes, Obi-Wan used to have issues with anger management, but even Mace had commented on his remarkable improvement and some were even saying that Kenobi had greater control and negotiation skills than his master. He was certainly better at making friends with the Jedi Council.

Now, she didn't know what to think. Plo had imparted a few of his theories about how this could have happened, but her master had been sceptical of them. He was expecting an ambush.

Depa didn't know which one of them she agreed with.

They turned a corner into the hangar bay and saw the ship sitting at the edge of the small platform that jutted out into one of the many huge holes in the ground that led into Coruscant's lower levels.

The door of the ship dropped down when they were about ten metres away and they all froze, the Temple Guards activating their lightsabers whilst Mace's hand strayed to his.

Slowly, much slower than Depa expected, three figures walked down to ramp. She almost gasped when she laid eyes on the figure in front of her.

Plo's description had not prepared her for what she was looking at now.

Obi-Wan's cheeks were concaved inwards and his cheekbones were far too prominent. He squinted as he looked around the bright hangar, heavily bagged eyes not focusing on them until he got to the bottom of the ramp. His tunic, which wasn't large by any means, hung off his frame loosely, and Depa could see the sweat around his brow even from where she was standing. Depa's eyes were drawn to Obi-Wan's throat where a thick, dark metalled collar encircled his neck.

His image was so shocking that it took Depa a second to register the Darkness. The cloying cold seemed to slice into her bones and she understand why the Temple Guards hadn't relaxed and why Mace had fully gripped his lightsaber.

However, a second later, the Darkness receded. It didn't disappear as if someone was trying to hide it, but was slowly drowned out as the red-skinned zabrak with black tattoos took a deep breath.

Obi-Wan turned to look at the Darksider - former Darksider? Depa thinks she remembers Plo calling him Maul - and put a hand on his shoulder.

Maul glanced at him and nodded.

"I remember - emotion yet peace, right Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan gave him a small smile and a tight nod, however as soon as he jerked his head, he froze, his entire body tensing as his complexion, impossibly, paled even further. The next instant, the woman - Shmi Skywalker if she was to be believed - was at his shoulder, clutching his bicep and steadying him as he swayed.

Depa took advantage of the pause to probe deeper in the Force. She focused on Obi-Wan and was disconcertingly met with nothing. It was like a rip in the Force and she couldn't reach beyond that tear.

She glanced beside her meeting Mace's eyes and realising that they'd both come to the same conclusion. Any trained Force User who had sensed these two after the collar had been put on would have reasonably assumed that they were both Dark. Her master took his hand off his lightsaber just as Obi-Wan looked back at them.

"My apologies, Masters," he said, his voice thin.

Depa saw Shmi's hands tighten around his arm.

"Don't you dare bow, young man," she muttered and Kenobi stilled.

"Young Obi-Wan," Master Yoda greeted, ignoring the woman. "Much you have been through, I sense."

"I have had an eventful few months I must admit, Master Yoda."

Depa's lips twitched and Mace looked like he was about to say something, but was cut off as Vokara pushed forward around the Temple Guards.

"If you're not going to attack them, I'm going to see to my patient. He clearly needs medical attention."

She strode forward and Obi-Wan's eyes widened.

"Master Che-"

"Don't you 'Master Che' me, Kenobi. Sit down."

A hover stretcher that the droids had set up was placed beside Obi-Wan and it was very telling that he immediately dropped down onto it without protest. It was even more telling when he only managed to keep a perfect posture for all of five seconds before he was slumping, and curling his knees up so he could lean his elbow against one and in turn lean his head in his hand.

Vokara moved around to his back, frowning as she brushed a hand over the collar on his neck and made soothing noises when Obi-Wan tensed at the contact. After a few moments, she pulled back a little, although she kept a hand on his shoulder, rubbing circles into it with her thumb and Shmi had moved on to running her hands through his hair.

"I think we need to bring him back to the Temple before we take this off."

Obi-Wan winced as he heard the news and Vokara moved around the stretcher and crouched slightly so that she was facing him directly.

"Listen to me, Obi-Wan. We _will_ get this off. The droids will certainly be able to hack it. However, you need to be in the Temple when we do. After this long being shut off from the Force in such a stressful way, you will most certainly experience psychic backlash when you are reconnected with it and the only way to somewhat ease that and ensure your and everyone's safety is to be in the Temple when we take the collar off. Do you understand?"

Obi-Wan's eyes were slightly unfocused but he swallowed and said, "I understand."

Vokara straightened, squeezing his shoulder again.

"Good boy," she said, her voice warm. "Just a little longer."

She gently pushed him down so that he was lying on the stretcher. Suddenly, she tensed, her whole body going rigid as an echo of confusion followed by horrified rage rang through the Force around her before her shields slammed shut over the emotions. Depa didn’t see what had caused her reaction, but Vokara was moving again a moment later, readjusting the tunic on Obi-Wan's shoulder and running a hand gently across his cheek. Vokara briefly locked eyes with Shmi before she took a half a step back.

However, before she could turn away, Obi-Wan touched her wrist.

"Maul and Shmi?" he asked.

"They'll be coming with us," Vokara assured him. "I would like to treat them as well."

She cast a glare over at the rest of them and it took all Depa's control not to flinch back instinctively.

Vokara raised an eyebrow and Mace cleared his throat. "Yes. We'll all go back to the Temple."

And so they did.

As they took the same winding routes into the bowels of the temple, through the back entrance that they'd left through so as not to draw attention to what they were doing. They needed to keep this as quiet as possible until they had it all worked out.

The two medical droids kept pace with the stretcher conducting tests and running scans all the way as they listed off their findings in rushed Binary that Depa, with her very limited understanding of the language, couldn't follow. Although, Vokara's frown deepened and the Force around her grew heavier with every round of data they rattled off to her.

Depa snuck glances at him as they walked along, but wasn't able to see much through the droids, Vokara and Maul (who had snarled so fiercely when the Temple Guards tried to steer him away from Obi-Wan's side that Mace just waved them off). She did, however, get a glimpse of Obi-Wan's torso as droids lifted his tunic up, and the prominent ribs she could see through his too-pale skin had her looking away quickly, a jolt going through her.

From there, the journey back was a blur and the next thing Depa knew, they were in a healing chamber in one of the Temple's underground levels.

Vokara shoved the Temple Guards, Shmi and Maul out the door as a small astromech medical droid buzzed around the room.

She slowly helped Obi-Wan onto a bed and coaxed him into a cross-legged position as he sat there, back hunched and arms shaking as he fisted his hands in his lap.

The astromedic was lifted onto the bed behind Obi-Wan and chirped out a string of Binary that Depa recognised as an indication of being ready and willing to complete a job.

"Masters, I need you all to shield," she ordered firmly and Yoda, Plo and Mace all immediately took up their positions a few paces in from the corners of the room.

Depa felt out of place as she went to stand in the final corner. Sure, she was a Jedi Master, but she wasn't on the Council like the others, even if Mace kept hinting at a possible seat in her future.

Nevertheless, she closed her eyes and raised her arms. The others were quick to help her integrate into the well-established Force connection that all members of the Council were practiced at achieving. Their presences melded together as they all prepared to mitigate the huge energy flux that was about to tear the Force around them apart.

"Are you ready, Obi-Wan?" Vokara asked. "This is going to be tough."

Obi-Wan grimaced, screwing his eyes shut.

"Yes, Master Che."

Vokara nodded and stepped back behind their shield.

"M4, please get that thing off him."

The astromedic beeped an affirmative and went to work, keeping up a steady stream of crooning chirps and whirrs. Depa couldn't quite understand the exact words they were saying, but she got the general gist of reassurance that the astromedic was trying to convey.

And then the collar was emitting a loud beep as it sprung open, falling into Obi-Wan's lap.

It was like being hit by a tidal wave. The Force rushed in from all sides to fill in the void and Obi-Wan let out a sharp yell as he curled into himself. The room shook and the astromedic was flung back into the wall as anything that wasn't strapped down was torn from its purchase.

Depa took a deep breath and rooted herself deeper, drawing strength from her companions as they all worked together to direct the Force and surround Obi-Wan with grounding presences.

He let out another scream and Depa felt herself begin to slip as pure, unfiltered pain whirled around her. Mace was immediately there, steadying her and helping her stay rooted in herself and not get lost in it. She took comfort from them as they all weathered the battle together.

Obi-Wan recovered faster than Depa had expected, and, after a few minutes, the storm around them stilled with a jerk.

Obi-Wan curled tighter in on himself with a groan and Vokara only waited a few moments before she rushed forward, both Mace and Plo making aborted motions to stop her but finding their arms batted away by the Force.

She stopped in front Obi-Wan hands hovering over his back but not touching him.

"Have you got control, Obi-Wan? Are you ready to be sedated?" she asked in a low voice.

Obi-Wan's muscles spasmed and he shook his head with a whimper.

"Just a moment," he rasped out, burying his hands in his hair as shudders continued to wrack his body as the storm that had just destroyed the room raged through his own body.

Depa restrained herself from walking forward. She wished they could ease his pain, but sedating him would just ensure that he lost control.

Eventually, Obi-Wan stilled, his posture loosening somewhat.

"Shhh," Vokara murmured. "You've got it."

Yoda walked forward, jumping up to the table beside him.

"Difficult trials, you have faced. Done well you have, young one," he put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Safe you are. Time to rest, it is."

Obi-Wan didn't lift his head but nodded.

The astromedic, who looked a little bit disorientated but otherwise unharmed, rolled forward and passed him a hypo, which Vokara injected. Obi-Wan slumped forward into her waiting arms.

"Alright, out. All of you," Vokara ordered as she rearranged Obi-Wan into a lying position. "I have three patients to treat. You can question the other two but it will be some time before Obi-Wan will be able to talk to you."

\-----

Mace released his anger into the Force for what felt like the hundredth time in the that morning alone.

His eyes were stuck on the messy scar along the side of Kenobi's shoulder, where Shmi and Maul had dug his chip out.

A slave chip.

Mace's fists clenched in his lap. He took a deep breath, balling up his rage and shoving it into the Force. It could do nothing to help him at the moment. It would only serve to cloud his judgement, at best, or disturb his charge at worst.

It had been over a day since he Vokara had finished with Obi-Wan and the young man was expected to wake up shortly. Him, Yoda, Plo and Depa had taken turns watching over him whilst Vokara bustled between the him, Maul and Shmi, all of whom were hooked up to fluids as they were rehydrated and pumped with nutrients.

Mace still didn't know what to think about the situation.

Obviously, the Jedi would help establish Shmi on whatever planet she wanted to settle on, and he would expect there would be a section of a Council meeting about organising visitation between the Skywalkers sometime in the near future, a process that was always long and complicated.

As for Maul… well Mace's instincts screamed at him to reject the Darksider, to restrain him and make sure he couldn't hurt anyone. However, he'd seen the zabrak's scar-littered body as it was being healed, and the way his eyes flickered between Sith yellow and a deep brown. There was conflict in him. Conflict Kenobi put there.

He was fighting against the Dark.

Something Mace could relate all too well to.

Mace sighed. This was a dangerous and a delicate situation.

Both of Kenobi's companions were being treated for malnourishment and dehydration, though neither of them were in nearly as bad a situation as he was.

Mace pressed his eyes shut. Everything was spiralling out of control. It was like he was drowning.

They tried to send someone out as soon as they got news from Qui-Gon of Kenobi's situation, but the closest Jedi were all deep undercover and couldn't extract themselves quickly enough. And then they needed time to get the funds together. They had more than enough credits, but they'd run into complications converting them to a currency that would be accepted on Tattooine in a large enough quantity to buy a slave.

By the time they'd gotten it together, the Naboo crisis had been over, and Qui-Gon had volunteered to go and collect his padawan, or his former padawan by then. Mace had protested that, but Yoda had thought the mission would give Qui-Gon enough of a reminder to rethink his decision regarding thrusting Obi-Wan into his trials.

Then the next thing Mace knew, Qui-Gon had been reporting that Kenobi had turned to the Dark Side and was working with the Sith Apprentice, whom they had all presumed to be dead. The Council had sent a contingent of Jedi to apprehend him (all of whom had now been recalled) whilst they'd called Qui-Gon back to Coruscant since they were certain he would be unable to be objective. The master had immediately thrown himself into training his knew padawan over the past week and had refused to talk about Kenobi after his Council debriefing.

And now it turned out that it was all a mistake.

Mace twitched, feeling his headache spike.

He'd volunteered to test the collar and had lasted less than a minute before he was practically begging for it to be taken off.

These past few weeks had been a series of increasingly unfortunate events and the poor man in front of him seemed to be able to feel the brunt of them.

And now they had the Sith to deal with, for the first time in a thousand years, along with the political upheaval of a new chancellor and the ramifications of the Trade Federation's actions.

Half the Council didn't want to believe that the Sith had resurfaced, the political unrest meant that the Senate were being even more slow than usual, and the Trade Federation were throwing as much weight as they could into combating every suggestion the Jedi made.

Before Mace's thoughts could spiral further, Kenobi stirred.

Mace tensed. He'd hoped Plo or Depa or Yoda would be here when Kenobi woke up. He didn't know what to say, and they were all much better at comforting others than he was.

The young man woke with a sharp intake of breath, immediately beginning to curl inwards as his hands went to his head. However, he froze half way through the motion. Kenobi blinked slowly, looking at the arm attached to the IV as he ran hand through his hair.

He rolled onto his back, head leaning against the cushion as he let out a shaky sigh.

"Force, thank you," Kenobi breathed, letting out a sound that was half sob half laugh. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Mace carefully took his legs out of their crossed position, placing his feet on the floor. The movement drew Kenobi's attention and the young man froze when he saw him.

"Master Windu, my apologies."

Kenobi tried to push himself up into a sitting position but Mace quickly reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay down," he ordered. "Master Che will kill me if she finds out I let you move."

Kenobi's eyes widened slightly at his attempt at a joke before he flashed Mace a small smile.

"Of course, Master Windu. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologise for, padawan." Should he even be calling him padawan? Kenobi didn't have a master anymore and Mace doubted the pair could work together properly after what has happened.

Mace hesitated, trying to decide what to say.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

Kenobi frowned. "We were travelling back to the Temple. You, and Master Yoda, Master Koon, Master Billaba and Master Che met us on the landing platform… Are Maul and Shmi okay?"

"They're both fine," Mace assured Kenobi, imbuing as much warmth into his voice as possible. "Master Che is overseeing their health."

Kenobi let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Master Windu."

Mace shook his head. "No, thank you, Padawan Kenobi. You seem to have a knack for doing the impossible."

Kenobi's eyes widened but the door opened before he could reply.

Mace glanced towards it and leant towards the young man.

"Speak of the devil and she may appear," he murmured.

Kenobi's head snapped to him as he let out a small gasp.

Vokara narrowed her eyes at Mace as she walked over and Mace felt his stomach drop. He hoped she hadn't heard that.

"Ah, Obi-Wan, you're awake," she observed. "And you're still lying down. Good."

"How are you feeling?" she asked, poising her stylus over her datapad as Plo, Depa and Yoda entered the room.

"Good," Kenobi answered.

Vokara glared at him.

"How is your head? Does it hurt?"

"It's fine."

Vokara raised an eyebrow.

Kenobi glanced down. "It's much better than before. Really. I can barely feel any pain."

Vokara sighed.

"What about the rest of you?"

Kenobi shook his head and smiled. "I'm just a bit tired."

Mace exchanged glances with Depa.

That was banthashit if he'd ever heard it.

Just shaking his head had caused Kenobi to pale even further than he already was. The bags under his eyes were still practically black and he looked almost skeletal.

"I'll see if you can handle solids by tonight, but only on the condition that you listen to everything you say," Vokara informed Kenobi in a tone that not even Master Yoda would argue with as she adjusted his bed so that he was sitting up slightly.

Kenobi nodded but then frowned, glancing around the room.

"This isn't the Halls of Healing," he observed. "Where am I? Why can't I sense anyone?"

Vokara pursed her lips. "You shouldn't strain yourself. Don't use the Force. And we're trying to keep this as quiet as possible until the Council can decide how to proceed moving forward."

Kenobi swallowed. "I guess that makes sense… but you can't even tell my master? Where is he?"

Vokara stilled.

"Maul said my master was okay after Naboo. Did something happen to him?"

Plo stepped forward. "Master Jinn is perfectly healthy, I assure you."

Kenobi relaxed at the Kel Dor's soothing voice.

"Then where is he? Was he on route to retrieve me?"

All the Masters glanced at each other, none of them wanting to break the news.

It was Mace who bit the blaster bolt.

He tried to keep his face clear and calm as he reported the events, even as Kenobi's expression crumpled with every new piece of information Mace presented. He attempted to keep any extraneous information out of his report. They sounded too much like excuses.

When Mace was done, Kenobi closed his eyes, squeezing them shut.

Mace very quietly breathed out. Qui-Gon was one of Mace's oldest friends. Though they had drifted apart over the last decade or so, since Mace had joined the Council, Mace had still watched Kenobi grow up. This was all wrong. The boy didn't deserve this.

After about a minute, Kenobi sighed.

"I understand, Masters. I apologise for inconveniencing you."

A crack resounded through the room and suddenly Kenobi was jerking his leg up with a yelp.

"Master Yoda! For the last time, do not hit my patients!"

Master Yoda, who had practically flown across the room and was now standing on Kenobi's bed, ignored her.

"Apologise you will not!" he ordered fiercely. "Apologise _we_ must! Deserve this, you did not."

Kenobi stared at him with wide eyes before he dropped his gaze. "Yes Master."

Master Yoda deflated and Depa stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Silence filled the room for a few moments.

"What will I do now?" Obi-Wan asked, voice barely above a whisper as he continued to stare down at his legs.

"You'll stay here and heal," Vokara ordered. "It will be at least a month before you're back on your feet properly."

Plo nodded. "And if you wish, we would like you to continue working with Maul."

"Really?"

Depa squeezed his shoulder. "Only if you want."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, I'll gladly do it. I just thought you would assign someone more experienced to help him."

"Maul trusts you," Plo explained. "And you have already done great work with him."

Obi-Wan nodded but frowned. "Does that mean we'll be confined to this part of the temple?"

"Only for now. The Council needs to make a decision and we'll need to inform the Senate. We already filed the paperwork regarding your official parting from the Order," Mace said. "It might take a bit of time to rescind it. The Senate has not been very… efficient as of late."

Even though the Chancellor had been quite happy to accept the first report which included details about Maul. But then, Mace was being too critical again. Of course the Chancellor would be concerned about the Darksider that had threatened his home planet. And almost killed one of the best swordsman in the Jedi Order.

Force, Mace needed a break,

Obi-Wan dipped his head. "I understand, Masters. This is a very delicate situation."

Mace's stomach twisted, a hundred words on the tip of his tongue.

Vokara beat him to it.

"Alright, he's been crowded enough for today. Everyone out. I'll let you talk to him when he's had time to rest."

Not a single one of them was willing to argue with a determined Master Che so they allowed themselves to be practically thrown from the old Healing Chamber.

Mace sighed as he went to resume his duties, headache easing a little as he got further away. Kenobi had always had a disturbing amount of shatterpoints around him for one so apparently innocuous - it was one of the many reasons he had always agreed with Yoda that the boy would one day make a truly great Jedi - but after recent events, the number had multiplied immensely.

The entire hall felt like a glass vase that had been smashed and was remade, cracks held together by weak glue, ready to collapse under any amount of pressure.

Mace hated being uncertain, but everyone on the Council had felt the shift in the Force, the darkening as it was tipped just a little further off balance.

There was so much that needed to be done and Mace didn't know which move was the right one to make.

\----

Vokara made sure to sit down for the conversation she was about to have with Obi-Wan. She wanted to seem as non-threatening as possible.

She held back a sigh as she took in the emaciated body in front of her.

Obi-Wan had been through her halls too many times over the years, but he had never looked quite as bad as this. She hadn't even been this worried for him after Melida/Daan.

"Before I let you rest, I need to have a talk with you about something I found when healing you."

Obi-Wan's eyes flickered to her, expression guarded. "What would you like to discuss, Master Che?"

Vokara pursed her lips, taking a moment to strengthen her resolve for the difficult discussion that was about to happen.

"On your shoulder-"

That was all she needed to say for Obi-Wan to tense, flinching back violently.

Vokara sighed. "I'm sorry Obi-Wan, but I need to know."

"He didn’t…," Obi Wan started, his eyes downcast, avoiding Vokara. "I mean. Maul stopped it before anything could happen."

Vokara's shoulders lowered slightly in relief.

She couldn't find it in herself to dislike the zabrak after she'd treated the poor man. His body had been littered with signs of severe and long lasting abuse, too thin, too many scars not properly healed, even the tattoos covering his body had seemed to be a form of torture, the ink certainly not being made of anything Vokara could recognise. It seemed to be bonded to his very being, not just etched into his skin, and Vokara strongly suspected it was some form of Sith magic.

The zabrak had continued to questioned after Obi-Wan over the past day, asking to see him and radiating an anxiety that was wreathed in a conflicted sort of darkness.

She knew that at least part of the reason that the Council had asked if Obi-Wan would continue working with him was because they doubted he would work with anyone else.

"You should see a mind healer," Vokara said, in lieu of any useless platitudes she knew would be entirely unwelcome.

Obi-Wan's shoulders stiffened as he set his jaw stubbornly.

"I'm setting appointments up for Maul and Shmi as well," she continued, before he could make any protests. "I know you like to follow you former Master's example in regards to healers, but I will not budge on this. This is an event that needs to be addressed."

Obi-Wan's shoulders started shaking ever so slightly and Vokara's heart dropped.

She slowly reached out with the Force, sending a thrum of comfort towards him. At first, Obi-Wan's presence recoiled, before he cautiously leant into it.

Vokara strengthened her presence around him.

"I won't be able to monitor you all the time," she murmured. "But I've called another healer down to help you."

Obi-Wan frowned and Vokara felt his Force signature twist uncomfortably underneath hers.

"It's alright," she said, pressing a button on her comm that would light up on the other healer's. "They can be trusted."

Obi-Wan looked as if he was about to protest when the door opened, revealing the rather confused healer.

Immediately, he perked up.

"Bant!"

The Mon Calamari rushed in, only barely restraining herself from throwing herself on top of the young man.

"Obi-Wan!"

Her Force presence washed over her friend as she reached out to hold him close for a second before she quickly pulled back.

"What happened, Obi-Wan?"

He smiled at her softly. "It's a really long story. I'm sure Master Che can explain it better, she's no doubt heard Maul and Shmi's stories and I'm afraid I wasn't entirely lucid for a lot of it."

Bant glanced at Vokara, eyes wide and Vokara nodded her head.

"I'll brief you, Healer Eerin," then she looked at Obi-Wan. "She'll be watching over you and the others between my check-ups, with the help of M4-D6."

The astromedic in question beeped let out a happy trill as she bustled in from the doorway and Obi-Wan glanced down at her.

"Oh! I think I remember you," Obi-Wan said with a warm but tired smile. "You were the one that got my collar off?"

The astromedic chirped of a confirmation before she burst out a flurry of questions about how Obi-Wan was feeling.

"My apologies," Obi-Wan said. "My binary isn't very good. But yes, I am doing much better now, thank you very much for your help. I'm sorry for hitting you."

A series of outraged beeps burst from M4 as she assured Obi-Wan that she didn't hurt him and that she was, in fact, offended that he thought she was made of such soft stuff.

Obi-Wan nodded through her tirade, but his head slowly lowered against the pillows, his eyes fluttering.

M4 noticed this, cutting off mid rant and changing the tone of her beeps to something softer.

"I think we'll let you rest, Obi-Wan," Vokara announced, getting up.

Obi-Wan hummed, eyes already closing.

Vokara turned off the already dimmed lights as she left the room before she turned to Bant.

"Something bad happened, didn't it Master Che?" she murmured, eyes trained on the closed door.

Vokara nodded numbly.

"Is everything going to be alright?"

Vokara pursed her lips. Even she had felt the veil that had fallen over the Force over the past month, as if the very galaxy was beginning to be soaked in Darkness.

"I don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy May the 4th!
> 
> How are you liking this so far?
> 
> Next chapter it's going to move out of pure Obi-Wan whump and into more plot territory.
> 
> Are you interested in seeing where this goes? What do you think is going to happen next?

**Author's Note:**

> Should I do more? I have a rough plan for what I might want to do with this fic moving forward into the timeline and eventually into CW era. 
> 
> Where do you think it would go moving forward?


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